Dr. Casey O’Connell is an Associate Professor in the Jane Anne Nohl Division of Hematology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC). She did her undergraduate work at Stanford University and completed her medical degree with distinction at the George Washington School of Medicine. She began her career as a clinical researcher at USC’s Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in the area of cancer-related thrombosis by describing the clinical significance of incidental pulmonary embolism identified on routine cancer staging CT scans. Her original work in this area was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and brought this clinical entity to the attention of oncologists worldwide. Dr. O’Connell’s background in cancer-related thrombosis has generated a focused interest in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPNs), which include Polycythemia Vera, Essential Thrombocytosis and Myelofibrosis. In addition to leading clinical treatment trials for patients with these malignancies, she pursues translational research seeking to discover how they induce arterial and venous thrombosis. The MPNs and Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are malignant hematopoietic disorders with pleiotropic clinical manifestations. Dr. O’Connell is interested in optimizing the role of epigenetic therapy in these pre-leukemic conditions that can lead to acute myeloid leukemia.

As director of the new GEHR CURES Myeloid Malignancy Program, Dr. O’Connell is focused on optimizing therapies and on novel ways to intervene earlier to prevent progression of these disorders. Dr. O’Connell is proudest of her accolades for patient care in Southern California and for teaching at the Keck School of Medicine, where she is the Director of the Year II Hematology Course.